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February 5, 2021
Greetings students, staff, and families,
We have completed the first semester under some extremely difficult circumstances. COVID has affected all of us in many different ways. Whether you are a student, staff member, or parent we have all had to cope with circumstances that were beyond our control. Our goal as a high school staff was to develop a curriculum that was based on the essential standards that are critical to a successful Spooner Student. We also wanted to ensure that the curriculum we created could be seamlessly delivered whether face to face or in a remote setting. We also wanted to hold our students accountable by exercising kindness and compassion. To our delight, we were able to accomplish that goal and as a result, we had a very successful first semester.
As a high school team, we were able to create and utilize four curriculum templates. Each template was designed to have a uniform format. No matter if your student has Spanish or Algebra II each template is constructed using the same design. The first template was a unit plan for each unit taught in every content area. The unit plan consists of Wisconsin State Standards, Learning Targets, Essential Vocabulary, Learning Activities, and Content Resources. The second template was a course syllabus. The course syllabus was designed by our staff to clearly define what are the student expectations for learning. It included a link to Google Classroom, the course unit plan, and daily assignments. The third template was a course expectation sheet that was sent each term to the families of our students. It was designed to provide information to the family and it included similar links that were included in the course syllabus. It also provided the best way to contact your student’s teacher including their office hours. The final template was the weekly lesson plans. This template was designed to let students and families chart student progress and know exactly where they should be on any given day. No matter if we were face to face or remote students had a plan for student success. The staff did an amazing job of putting this process together and it will continually evolve and improve as we continue to find new ways to serve our students.
So what were the results of our work in semester one?
- For most of the semester, we were able to meet face to face. When we needed to go remote the process was fairly smooth and seamless.
- Our staff and students were able to remain relatively healthy and adjusted to the restrictions created by COVID.
- Overall failing grades at a high school level were about 40% nationally. Regional high schools are showing similar percentages. Spooner High School was under 15%. That is pretty amazing considering what our students have been through. We will continue to work hard to improve upon that number and get our students the support they need.
- Our students have been able to participate in extracurricular activities. Certainly, there were some bumps in the road, but if you remember originally the odds of us participating in extracurriculars at all were very slim.
- Student behavior and discipline issues were amazingly low. Students were respectful and cooperative under some very stressful circumstances.
This year has thrown us plenty of curveballs, but we have been able to adjust and overcome. Our staff and students are truly doing an excellent job. We look forward to continuing and improving upon our successes and thank you for your support and all you do for your student(s).
Respect
Dennis Scherz
HS Principal
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